"franklin" Must Be Found

February 14, 2008

The hoped-for "Arrested Development" movie has run into an unanticipated snag. Although the human cast is all expected to sign on, GOB's foul-mouthed puppet Franklin is missing:

After the show’s 2006 cancellation, Fox used an eBay account to
auction off such memorable “AD” items as Buster’s prosthetic hand,
G.O.B.’s Segway and Lucille’s dining room set. While no one seems to
know whether Franklin himself was sold, his Adidas sneakers ($45),
overalls ($27), shirt ($152) and Franklin Comes Alive album ($326) are long gone. So, before the movie starts filming, [Will] Arnett hopes someone will help him locate his naked, tuneless puppet....

“Well, I built the first one, so I’m going to have to build it
again. That’s a little ‘Arrested Development’ piece of trivia,” Arnett
revealed. “I made Franklin.” Really? “No, that’s a lie,” he grinned. “How would I know how to do that?”

Two outrages: How can they have auctioned off priceless A.D. memorabilia like that? And why wasn't I informed in time to bid?